Tower Demolition has taken centre stage at iconic Camden music venue Koko.

The London-based demolition contractor has started work on the grade II-listed building which is set to be given a new lease on life.

The legendary club, which over the years has hosted the Rolling Stones, Motörhead, Prince and Oasis, is undergoing a refurbishment which will see a private members club, boutique hotel and recording studio added to the grade II-listed music venue.

A main contractor is expected to be appointed to the job in the coming weeks, with the main package of works due to start in September.

The venue, where Charlie Chaplin performed in its original incarnation as a theatre, will continue to operate while work is ongoing.

The makeover will also see the conversion of Koko’s dome into a bar, topped with a new cupola based on original proposals for the 1900 building. New terraces are set to be created, including a fourth-floor glazed roof extension to provide a bar and restaurant.

Recommending the scheme for approval, Camden planning officers said the proposals had “multiple heritage benefits” for the theatre, with the flytower proposal, which will see it house the recording studio, bringing “historic spaces into use with minimal cost to heritage”.

Officers said a noise report submitted with the application predicted the worst-cases noise level would be no greater than the quietest night-time background level, so there would be “no harm to neighbouring amenity from the proposed roof terraces”.

On the run-down north Kent coast is a living example of regeneration in action. With its contemporary art gallery and now the revival of Dreamland amusement park, Margate has become a model for culture-led revival